Your Soul You Must Keep Free
by Imogen Color
Summary: Carleigh moved to New York City thinking it would give her answers and a new look on life. Although she is only left with more questions and heartache after befriending a certain obnoxious burger-loving personification.
1. Beginning

**Hello there! This is my first Hetalia fan fiction so any tips or suggestions will be much appreciated!**

The small droplets of water clung to the side of the café windows. It was another rainy New York evening. Cars and taxis lined the streets with anxious businessmen being less then friendly trying to return to their families and apartments. The rain was increasing the hostility in the already delicate situation. Carleigh never thought her future would dissolve into working at a cramped, hidden on a corner coffee shop, but that's how life goes when you want to go to school in the city. Attending a university in Manhattan is not a small investment by any means.

She had always herd from her father that her big dreams belonged in the big city, so when she was eighteen she thought "why the hell not?" There were plenty of great colleges in New Jersey close to home, but those simply would not do.

There was only one customer in the shop, sipping coffee and gossiping with someone on her cell phone. Carleigh focused on the people walking with their umbrella and raincoats hugged tight to their bodies outside the window. People were scurrying to their destination in hopes of escaping the wet cold of December. No two people were ever the same. It came as a bit of a culture shock when she first moved to the City two years ago. She immediately wanted to move back to back to her little beach town. She had friends there and wherever you went someone would say " I remember when you where little..." Home was the predictable. The city was not.

"_He's usually here by now..."_ Carleigh thought as she scanned the window for the tall customer with blue eyes and glasses who usually came around the same time every week. What confused her was how he was so skinny when he never came in without a McDonald's bag in his hand. He was also quite loud, but he was always interesting to talk to at the least. She wasn't completely sure, but he was some kind of U.S. ambassador for the government. His visits always contained some crazy exaggerated story about him and ambassadors from other nations.

As soon as the brown bomber jacket with the number fifty on the back passed by the window, she turned around to make his usual cappuccino with one shot of espresso.

"HEY DUDE! Got any food? I'm starving!"

Carleigh spun around on her heel with a coffee pot in her hand, smirking.

"What, is McDonalds closed?"

"DUDE, don't even joke like that!" He looked distressed for a moment, but then started to laugh as he pulled out a burger from his notorious fast food bag. The bomber jacket over top of a crisp business suit wasn't typical to those walking the streets. He sat the counter, dropped and suitcase, and started to stuff his face with his French fries. Carleigh simply shook her head. "What's with the monkey suit, Al?" She teased him.

"Big meetings all this week. Anybody who is anyone shows up. Like me 'cause I'm the hero!" he stated proudly. Carleigh gave him a look then shook her head. She put his cappuccino on the counter in front of him. He continued to blather on about how he and England representative got into some kind of ridiculous argument, while he continued to shove food in his mouth, of course.

"-And of course England had to bring his scones for everyone, and trust me, those things should be considered nuclear waste or something!"

It was like Carleigh's own personal sitcom whenever Alfred had a story. Apparently the people he works with are just as crazy as him.

"Forget Psychology, I'm switching to whatever you are! You get to travel and see the world! Unless I ever manage to graduate, I'll be serving muffins and coffee for the rest of my life," Carleigh countered.

"Ha! Trust me, Car. It's not all its crapped up to be!" He said after swallowing some of his cappuccino. "Anyways, how've you been?"

"The usual, going to class and serving cranky people coffee every morning," She answered leaning on the counter and giving him a smile and giggling at the ridiculous piece of hair sticking up from his head. She would never admit it to his face, but she had a little crush on him. His laughing, ocean-blue eyes could charm the pants off of almost anyone. It might sound corny, but something drew her towards him and she didn't know what exactly that was. "_At least he's pretty much oblivious to everything…"_

"Well, you've got to start somewhere!" he said and gave loud, short laugh. Once again, Hannah rolled her eyes.

"So, argue with anyone else today?" she questioned.

"Just a little with Russia, he's creepy bro."

"You mean the representative of Russia, right?"

"What? Oh... yeah that, but anyway, he's always got this freaky smile on face. You have to see it to believe it dude." He took another bite out of his burger._ 'That was a little weird,' _she thought. _'But whatever I guess...'_

The two continued to chat as Carleigh stopped to serve other customers every once in a while. Alfred was currently working on his fifth burger when his phone rang.

"Hey Iggy! What's up?" angry shouting could be heard on the other end of the phone, but Alfred simply laughed. "Alright, calm down dude I'll be right there…" Alfred sighed and finished his burger in one bite and threw out his wrappers. Carleigh stood there shocked. "You know, I've seen my brother eat a whole pizza, but I've never seen anyone finish almost a whole burger in one bite!"

"Ha! That's cause I'm a hero! I gotta go before the British limey throws a fit. See ya Car!"

"Later, Al!" She gave a smile and wave, which he returned. _'He's pretty hot when he smiles… wait, what!' _she felt her cheeks heat up and she mentally scolded herself.

"So when is he going to ask you out?" She spun around to see a middle aged women with red lipstick and a little too much eyeliner sipping her coffee. She reminded her of that one aunt who would pinch your cheeks and obsessed over how cute you were.

"I-I don't know, I think-"

"Mm-hmm. Careful honey, he seems like a handful."

Carleigh sighed. "No kidding."

**..~..**

"Finally!" Carleigh yawned. She had just finished wiping down the counter and prepping for the next day. Throwing her apron in the back she grabbed her bag and coat and began to walk out of the shop and lock up. With one final look at the café she stepped out the door, but noticed a rectangular box where Alfred had sat. '_He would forget!'_ She went back inside, and sure enough, the tag on it read _return to: ALFRED F. JONES._ Right below the name a phone number was given._ "He'll probably need this if he has a meeting tomorrow... I guess I'm calling." _Carleigh pulled out her phone, but hesitated to dial. "_C'mon! It's just a call don't chicken out!" _she told herself. With a deep breath she dialed and pressed call, heart racing.

'_Crap, crap, crap-'_

"Hello? Hero speaking!"

"U-uh hi Al, it's Carleigh."

"Oh hey Car, how did you get my phone number dude?"

"Well, you left your briefcase at the café."  
"Bro! Thanks dude. I'm a little busy to go get it. Do you think you could drop it off at the World Building tomorrow morning? You know where that is right?"

"Yeah sure! No problem! _'Damn, where is that? Why did you say yes? What were you thinking! You sound like a stalker!'_

"Alright, thanks again dude! I'll be there at around eight so drop it off then! Dude! You're so totally awesome for this!"

"Uh, yeah! I'll see you tomorrow then!"

"Bye!"

Hannah hug up on Alfred and sighed. She could feel the blood rushing to her face. Resisting the urge to do a happy dance in public, she walked home in the cold air singing songs under her breath. It had stopped raining, leaving small puddles reflecting the neon lights emitted from signs and buildings. It made the fifteen-minute walk back to her apartment minimally more enjoyable. Her thoughts drifted to Alfred and she couldn't help but giggle a little. He was… different for sure, but she knew he was a good person. She kept walking down the busy street humming, but of course, not with out running straight into a tall man's chest.

"Oh! I'm sorry sir-" she quickly tried to apologize to the blond haired, blue eyed man.

"Nein, it is not a problem," he spoke with a thick German accent. Carleigh just nodded and smiled as the serious man continued to walk down the street. She shrugged and continued at a faster speed to her apartment.

..~..

The apartment wasn't anything special by far. The old wood floor and mix-matched furniture could at best be described as "charming". But it was home, nonetheless. Carleigh kicked her black flats across the room into the corner, and then flopped down onto the couch, the day's events finally catching up.

Smiling at the thought of her time with Alfred, she clicked on the small television. She felt almost embarrassed by her juvenile crush on him, too shy and afraid of rejection. She sighed and flipped onto back before blowing back a piece of light brown hair that had come loose from her ponytail.

"You know what I hate?" her roommate stormed inside. "People who think that they are SOO much better that you and feel the need to take YOUR taxi! Who the hell do they think they are anyway?"

"Oh hey, Kait! It's nice to see you too!" Carleigh smirked. Kait shot her a warning look in return. "By the way, I need your help at an event tomorrow night. Tim got sick and I need someone to help me serve the fancy people their damn shrimp puffs!" She sighed and went to her room.

"Yea, sure Kait. Why no-" Carleigh looked down at her phone as it rang. _Call from: __**Alfred F. Jones.**_

…**To Be Continued (Hopefully)…**

**Why yes! That was my sad attempt at a cliffhanger . Anyway, sorry if the end seemed rushed, I wasn't sure how I wanted to end this chapter and I just want to finally get to the good stuff in the next chapter :P. It will be kind of fluffy, but in a good way, if that's even possible. R&R is, once again, greatly appreciated! **

**~Imogen Color**


	2. Confusion & Compliments

**Hurray! Sorry this took so long. Things are just busy cause of school ending and finals :p. Thank you to anyone who alerted, favorited and reviewed! Just thought I would clear some things up before I start. In the last chapter I made a mistake, Carleigh's name originally was Hannah before I changed it! I chose Carleigh because that was how my name was supposed to be spelt and I like it. Yes, my name is Carly (_insert last name here_). Don't worry I'm not making this a self-insert. Yes, that was Germany in the last chapter! He's one of my favorite characters :3. But don't worry UsuiXMisalover! I put some Italy in this chapter for you! 'Cause he is adorable. And thanks Oniongrass too since I didn't mention you before! P.S "Awake My Soul" by Mumford and Sons inspired the title! I thought it would suit **

**And because I forgot to last chapter:**

**DISLCAIMER: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters. I also do not own the Song.**

The air was even more bitterly cold in the mornings. The rising sun wasn't visible through the tall buildings.

Carleigh hid her face in her knit scarf and hurried towards the subway, briefcase in hand.

She didn't want to take another step ahead, but she did. She didn't want to be brave and face Alfred after last night. It only made her more nervous about meeting him. She paid for her ticket and boarded a subway car, taking a seat next to an Asian-looking man. When Alfred had called her to tell her where to go, some woman was talking in the background. This Carleigh found discouraging._ 'What were you thinking? Of course he would have a girlfriend!'_ She pulled out the crumpled piece of paper with the address to the world conference building in it. She looked from the suitcase. He wouldn't have anything too secret in there. '_It wouldn't hurt to peak,' _she thought. '_Then again, he does work for the government..." _She sighed and noticed that short man sitting next to her was also looking at the briefcase.

"O-oh, sorry…" he said in a quiet voice. He scooted over closer to the window.

"Its alright."

There were a few awkwardly quiet moments before people from the next stop boarded.

"Ve~, where do you want to sit, Germany?"

"You dummkopf! What do you think you're doing?" the other man said in a hushed German accent. It was the same man from last night.

"I'm sorry Ger-Hey look! A pretty girl! _Ciao Bella_!" The Italian man looked over to her and waved. She returned the wave, albeit confused and hesitant as the German man pushed the other down into a seat by the shoulders. The Italian man continued to wave but this time directed to the man sitting next to her. They seemed to know each other.

'_It sounds ignorant, but seriously! Do all foreign people in this city know each other? '_She focused once again on the suitcase. _'What's the worst that could happen?" _Carleigh began to play with the latch and flicked it open.

The actual contents of the suitcase weren't all that surprising. They were a couple drawings of burgers on a notepad, some real notes on topics they were discussing (Only a few of these), and a cheeseburger wrapper from Mickey D's. She flipped through some of the papers and her eyes paused on a letter addressed to _The Personification of the United States of America._ Carleigh stared blankly at the letter for a whole minute. What did it mean personification? Alfred was only an ambassador for the government! I mixture of guilt and confusion filled her head and made her feel sick. _'This isn't good,' _she thought. _'I definitely wasn't supposed to see this letter. What do they mean by personification?'_

Carleigh quickly shut the briefcase and tried to shake her nervousness. _'Everything will be fine.'_

"Um, excuse me Miss," the man sitting next to her said quietly in his Japanese accent. "I'm sorry, but I would like to go talk to my friends." He was standing up. Carleigh turned her head to face him.

"Oh! Yea sure…"she responded

"Thank you."

Carleigh sat back down after letting him pass by. She still had a couple more stops until she had to get off. The group of three kept glancing over in her direction and Carleigh tried to pretend not to notice them. She couldn't hear them talking though. Only a few "Vee~'s" and "PASTA!'s" coming from the Italian. The nerves were once again building in her stomach.

(*-^-*)

The morning had already gotten worse. The three foreign men were following her to Alfred's work. She picked up her pace and tried to focus on the sidewalk in front of her.

After a couple more blocks she reached the building. It was hard not to look at, being quite large and shiny. Carleigh looked around for the three men who were following her but she saw no one. Walking over to a bench she sat down and waited for any sign of Alfred.

It was only about a minute or two after she sat down when a man with shoulder length blonde hair and a slight beard approached her. He wore a white suit jacket with a maroon dress shirt underneath and black pants. He held himself with a confident air and a smirk on his lips.

"_Bonjour belle,_" he said with a smile taking her hand and kissing it.

"I-I u-uh…" Carleigh started to slightly panic. He was being a little too friendly.

"HEY FROG! What the bloody hell do you think you are doing?"

Carleigh spun her self around and yanked her hand free to find an angry looking man, looking a few years older than her. By his accent, she assumed him to be from Britain. He was not as tall as the Frenchmen and had blonde shaggy hair with eyebrows that were… considerably larger than normal.

"Well if it isn't the black sheep," The Frenchmen replied. "Still haven't changed from your _fade_ wardrobe, _Oui? (__**Fade**_** according to google translate means bland in French)**

"Oh shut it, smelly moron!"

"_Mon ami,_ surely you could come up with a better insult then that."

"Why you wanker! I'm not your friend! I-"

The two where at each other's throats and continued screaming at one another, while Carleigh watched in shock.

'_Should I be doing something? And what's with all the hot guys?'_

"Hey Car! I was looking for you!"

She gave a sigh of relief. Finally Alfred had shown up. He was wearing a business suit again. Needless to say Carleigh had a hard time taking her eyes off of him, as any girl would.

"Hey Alfred! I have your suitcase," She smiled at him, but felt another pang of guilt in her heart. '_Why did I have to go and look?'_ She pushed the feeling away. "Just wondering, does that normally happen?"

She pointed to the two European men fighting off to the side.

"Oh those two? Ha! That's normal!" He waved to the other representatives. "Hey Iggy!"

"What do you want you idiot?" The British man replied, still with a fist of the other mans blonde hair in his hand. Alfred responded with one of his signature obnoxious laughs.

"The British one is Arthur and the French one is Francis," Al explained. The two had seemed to have calmed down and stopped fighting enough to nod as they were introduced. "Dudes, this is Carleigh."

"Hi," was all she could come up with.

"It is a pleasure to meet you."  
"_Oui, ma dame." _Arthur rolled his eyes at the response. They both went inside after saying goodbye, leaving Carleigh and Alfred alone.

'_Just stay calm, you do this all the time at the Café.'_

"Thanks again Car. I don't know how to repay you, dude!"

"I-Its okay Al. You really don't need to," She tried to convince him.

"I've got it! Follow me! It's my treat!"

Before her brain had time to process what he said, Alfred grabbed Carleigh's hand and led her into the building. This made her blush. Bad.

The inside of the building was as stunning as the outside. She was led through a small topiary before entering the lobby with high ceilings and a stunning chandelier. She thought it was suiting, considering the high positions of the people who worked there. They all wore business suits like Alfred's and were speaking in different languages. Alfred gave Carleigh little time to enjoy the room before he pulled her in the direction of an open elevator. They were not alone, however, there were a few oriental men and one other woman. Carleigh scanned their faces, each looking at her curiously then looking the other way. She recognized the man she sat next to on the subway and quickly turned and focused on Alfred. He saw her looking at him and gave her a reassuring smile.

'_Deep breaths, and smile back! Wait… we're still holding hands…' _Her face started to turn the vibrant red color again._ 'Curse you, pale ancestors!'_

To her relief, the elevator doors opened and Alfred led her out and down a number of long hallways. At the end seemed to be a large room with many windows, allowing the morning sunlight to stream through. Alfred began to slow down his walking pace and let go of her hand as they reached the end of the hallway.

"I know you probably eat café food everyday, but this stuff is pretty good!" he told her with another bright smile.

"Don't worry! I'm thankful," she replied turning to face him.

"Get anything you want."

"Are you sure, Al? You really don't have to-" Alfred was just staring at her and chuckling. "… What?"

"Nothing Car, you're just cute when you blush," He said still chuckling.

'_WHAT THE F-'_ She stumbled trying to fight the right words to say.

"Oh... Thanks!"

He looked to the pastries on display by the register. "This one is my favorite," He said pointing to a raspberry one with chocolate icing on top.

"Hmm… Sounds good to me," She told him. He told the cashier her order and took out a card and handed it to him. He looked at it then returned it to Alfred.

"Sure thing, Mr. Jones," the cashier said handing him back the card and delivering the pastry. He handed it to Carleigh.

"Thanks again, you're a real life saver!" Carleigh was about to respond when a woman came up to them and look at Alfred.

"There you are! Come on, we're going to be late and we still have things to go over!" Carleigh recognized her voice from over the phone last night. _'Maybe it's his girlfriend? It doesn't seem like it.'_

The woman grabbed his wrist and began do drag him away.

" Sorry! I'll see you later Car! Thanks again!"

"Bye Al," she yelled after him with a sigh. She didn't want him to leave. Now there was only one problem, how was she going to find her way out? She ate her pastry at a table then threw away the wrapper. She had forty-five minutes to find a way out and get to her college class.

(*-^-*)

She had been wandering around for about ten minutes and she was starting to panic. She would definitely be late for class. Still lost in thought, she bumped into yet another person, causing him to drop his papers.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Here let me help," she insisted while bending down to help him gather his things. The man had an almost scary resemblance to Alfred.

"No worries, it's not a big deal," he said with a Canadian accent. "I haven't seen you around here. Are you new?"

"No, just lost. I was with my friend, but he had to go and now I'm stuck here…"

"Well, I'm Mathew. Why don't I help you find your way out?"

"That would be great, thanks! I'm Carleigh by the way."

The two made their way back to the lobby where Carleigh thanked Mathew for his help and shook his hand. She walked out of the building and waved down a taxi. She couldn't help but feel a little upset about Alfred leaving her, but he couldn't help it. The taxi ride went fast after thinking about everything that had just happened. This was going to be an interesting December.

**Phew! Holy fluff that was like running a freaking marathon! If only you all could have heard me squeal when I was writing this. ** **Anyway, thanks again for waiting so long for me to update. I hate waiting too, but now that school is over that shouldn't be a problem! Pretty please, review, alert and favorite! It makes me write faster! **

**Thanks again everyone!**

**`Imogen Color **


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